Current-interrupter.



B. K READ.

CURRENT INTERHUPTEFL APPLICATION HLED JUHEZG, I916.

1 ,292,644, Patented Jan. 28, 1919.

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B. K. READ.

CURRENT INTERRUPTER, I APPLICATION FILED IUNEZG' 1916 1,292,644, Patented Jan. 28, 1919.

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B. K. READ.

CURRENT INTERRUPTER.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 26. I916.

Patented Jan. 28, 1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3 M m w. 00.. l 4 a R i WITNESS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BENJAMIN K. mum, on nn'rnorr, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TOI-IARRY w. BEGGS, or VINCENNES, INDIANA.

CURBENT-INTERRUPTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

PatentedJan. 28, 1919.

Application filed June 26, 1916. Serial No. 105,884.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN K. READ, a citizen of the United States, and residing at Detroit, in the county of Wayne and State of Michigan, haveinvented a new and Improved Current-Interrupter, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to means for opening an electric circuit at the reversal of the movement of a revolving member and for closing said circuit immediately after the said member has again begun to revolve in the opposite direction, and its object is to provide an interrupter which shall be positivein'its action, strong and easily kept in order.

This invention consists of a revoluble shaft and a pedestal therefor, a sleeve slidable onthe shaft and carrying a contact ring adapted to close a circuit between two contact i brushes, and means mounted on the ,pedestal' and revoluble with the shaft for moving'said contact ring longitudinally of the pedestal out from between the contact brushes'when the shaft begins to change the direction of its movement and to move this ring back between these contact brushes immediately thereafter.

In'the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of the current interrupter when the direction of movement of the driving shaft is just being changed. Fig. 2 is an elevation ofthis device when the movement of the driving shaft is that of the arrow above the grooved pulley. Fig. 3 is a central vertical section on a plane parallel to that ofFigJ 1. Fig. 4 is a view indicating means for driving this device.

Similar reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views.

While this device may be employed for interrupting any current that can be transmitted to it, it isespecially designed to interrupt controlling currents employed in the train control system for which'application Number 100,206 was filed May 27th, 1916, by Thomas E. Clark and Mark H. Hovey.

In the drawings is'shown a tubular pedestal 1 which may be provided with hearing bushings 2 for the revoluble shaft 4 which may be driven by a belt runningon the grooved pulley 5 or in any other desired manner. In Fig. 4, a flexible shaft 6 is shown connected to the end of a car axle 7 and extending into a case 8 by which this current interrupter'is inclosed, which flexible shaft may connect to the lower end of the shaft 4.

Secured to this shaft 4 is a bevel pinion'9 and a collar 10. A cap 12 rests on the pedestal 1 and carries a bearing ring 13 of a thrust bearing consisting in addition to this ring of the second bearing-ring 14, the balls 15 and the ball cage 16. The second bearing ring 14 is secured to a plate 17 on which are the lugs 18 that furnish bearings for the stub-shafts 19. Secured to the inner ends of the stub-shafts are gear segments 20 that mesh with the pinion 9 and are pro vided with counterweights 22.

The outer ends of the shafts 19 are formed with sleeves 23 to receive the pins 24 that support the knuckles 25. These knuckles carry pins 26 that extend through the forked upper ends of the links 27 whose lower ends receive the pins 28 carried by knuckles 29. which are on the outer ends of the pins 30. These pins 30 are journaled in lugs 32 carried by a ring 33.

Slidable on the pedestal 1 is a sleeve 34 having a flange 35 on its upper end which flange has an extension in the form of a circumferential lip 36 between the ring 33 and a thin collar 37 secured thereto by means of screws 38. The sleeve 34 will therefore move up and down with the ring 33 on the pedestal, although it may or may not rotate on the pedestal with the ring 33. Mounted on the sleeve 34 and held against the flange 35 by nuts 40 is a collar 42 of insulating material on which a ring 43 of conducting metal is mounted. This collar 42 may be of several piecesif desired.

On the base A or other support of the pedestal 1 are small supports 44 for the binding posts 45 and the contact brushes 46 which engage the collar 42 when the collar, is depressed as shown in Fig. 1, and engage the ring 43 when the collar is elevated shown in Fig. 2. The circuit between the wires 47 and 48 is completed in the latter case but broken in the former. The operation of this device is as follows.

Operation.

So long as the shaft 4: revolves as indicated in Fig. 2, the bevel gear 9 will hold the gear segments 20 in the position there shown, for it is through these segments that the plate 17 and the ring 33 are turned around the pedestal 1, the turning stress being transmitted to the ring 33 by means of the links 27 which are forced to assume the inclined positions through the inclination of the sleeves 23 and can freely do so because of the pins 26, 28 and 30. The result of this inclined position of the links 27 is that the collar a2 and conductor ring 43 are elevated and that the ring 48 completes the circuit between the brushes et6. It will be apparent that it is immaterial whether the collar 42 and ring 43 turn with the ring 33 or not, so long as they move longitudinally of the pedestal 1 with this ring 33.

It is of course immaterial which way the shaft 4 turns for the upper ends of the links 27 will always be in advance of the lower ends and the ring 43 will be drawn up as far as possible, that is, until the ring 33 engages the posts 50 extending down from the plate 17. When the direction of revolution of the shaft l is reversed, the pinion 9 will turn the segments about their centers, causing the links 27 to push down the sleeve 34 to the position shown in Fig. 1, and to push the ring 43 from between the brushes l6, thus interrupting the current between the wires 47 and 48. The counterweights 2:2 will assist in holding the segments 20 and the parts connected thereto in their final posi tion and will prevent the ring 43 from vibrating.

The details and proportions of the various parts can all be changed by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim 1. In a current interrupter, the combination of a revoluble shaft, a sleeve movable longitudinally of the shaft, a collar of insulating material mounted on the sleeve, a conductor ring on said collar, a pinion on said shaft, means mounted to revolve concentric of the shaft and operatively connected to said pinion and sleeve for moving the sleeve longitudinally of the shaft, and a pair of contact brushes in the path of and engaging said ring when at one limit of its movement along the shaft.

2. In a current interrupter, the combination of a pedestal, a shaft revoluble therein, a. sleeve slidable on the pedestal, a collar of insulating material mounted on the sleeve, a conductor ring on said collar, a pinion on said shaft, means mounted to revolve on the pedestal and operatively connected to said pinion and sleeve for moving the sleeve longitudinally of the pedestal, and a contact brush in the path of said ring.

3. In a current interrupter, the combination of a revoluble shaft, a conductor ring mounted concentric with the shaft and movable longitudinally thereof, a pinion on the shaft, means mounted to revolve with the shaft and operatively connected to said pinion and ring for moving said ring longitudinally of the shaft, and a contact brush adapted to be engaged by said ring when at one limit of its movement.

4. In a current interrupter, the combination of a pedestal, a shaft revoluble therein, a sleeve slidable on the pedestal, a conductor ring mounted on the sleeve, a pinion on the shaft, a plate revolubly mounted on the upper end of the pedestal and having bearings, stub-shafts mounted in said bear ings, gear segments mounted on the inner ends of the stub-shafts and meshing with the pinion, and means operatively connected to the outer ends of the stub-shafts and to the sleeve whereby the conductor ring is moved back and forth longitudinally of the shaft, and a contact brush to engage said ring at one end of its stroke.

5. In a current interrupter, the combination of a pedestal, a shaft revoluble therein, a pinion on said shaft, a sleeve slidable on the pedestal, a conductor ring mounted on the sleeve, a pinion on the shaft, a revoluble plate mounted at the upper end of the pedestal, hearings on said plate, radial shafts mounted in the bearings, gear segments on the inner ends of said shafts and meshing with said pinion, and sleeves and transverse pins within the sleeves on the outer ends of said shafts, a bearing ring connected to said sleeve on the pedestal, bearings on said hearing ring, radial pins in said bearings and knuckles and transverse pins on the outer ends of said radial pins, links connecting the two sets of transverse pins to move the conductor ring up and down as the shaft changes the direction of its movement, and a pair of oppositely positioned contact brushes between which the contact ring may be forced by said links.

6. In a current interrupter, the combination of a rotatable driving member, an insulated ring movable longitudinally thereon, means rotatable concentric with the driving member and operatively connected thereto for moving said ring back and forth longitudinally of the driving member at each reversal of rotation, and contact means adapted to engage the ring when at One limit of its longitudinal movement.

7 In a current interrupter, the combinafor moving said contact member back and tion of a driving member rotatable in either forth each time the direction of movement direction, an insulated contact member of the driving member is reversed, and a 10 mounted on said driving member to move stationary contact adapted to engage the 5 back and forth as the direction of movement movable contact member when at one limit of the driving member is reversed, means of its movement. operatively connected to the driving member BENJALHN K. READ.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

